We awoke this morning in our house in Cambridge, NY to THIS temp report...it's 29 degrees warmer here than it is in Austin! Back from a family vacation in Puerto Rico, we plan to depart in a few days, hopefully it WILL be warmer down south soon. So much to do before we depart. Lists to make, parties to throw, Health Care Coverage sign-ups to wrestle with, and most important; picking up the Westy from our great mechanic Andrew Flint. He's giving it a going-over, equipping us with some spare parts we might find will come in handy on the road. A new set of tires and we'll be "good to go".

One thing my friend Kimball Petty told me when I was considering purchasing a Westy: "Just know that they WILL need repairs on a long trip, and you'll have a great experience!" Sure sounds like Buddhism to me. Kim told me of a break-down in which he spent two weeks stranded somewhere remote, waiting for parts. And Tom's brother Johnny recently related a similar road trip experience where they had to pull the engine. He described the week camped out behind a Burger King in an engine-less bus to be the best part of the cross-country trip. So here's to IMPERMANENCE and also hoping our re-built engine gets us there and back again. And a nod to the legendary Boston Bob, who rebuilt the engine not long before he passed away some years ago.